With help from Sweeney, Bruins' Krug now a playoff hero

Torey Krug signed with the Bruins over teams that presented more immediate opportunities for playing time, in part because of the presence of assistant general manager Don Sweeney. Now with Sweeney's guidance, he's a playoff hero.

Torey Krug had offers from about 15 teams last March when he opted to leave Michigan State after his junior season.

Krug had posted 62 points in the previous two seasons in East Lansing. Having gone undrafted, Krug was suddenly the cute girl without a prom date, his cell phone buzzing with requests.

There were chances to go to teams with an immediate need for a defenseman, franchises where he would stand a good chance of making his road trips on luxury planes.

Signing with the Bruins would literally be the more difficult road — Krug would have to take the interminable bus trips of an AHL player. The Bruins were nine months removed from a Stanley Cup championship and would be returning five blue liners in 2012-13 and adding prodigy Dougie Hamilton.

There was no immediate need for a 5-foot-9 rookie defenseman.

Yet Krug wrote his signature in Black-and-Gold. There were two reasons: he wanted to go to a winner, and he wanted to have someone who knew exactly what he would be going through as a tiny blue liner.

There are few who can better describe that experience than Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney, the 5-foot-10 waterbug who played 16 seasons — 15 with the Bruins — and 1,115 games in the NHL.

"That was a pretty important consideration for Torey in choosing Boston," Michigan State coach Tom Anastos said, "because he felt there was somebody there that was an advocate of him, but also somebody that he can lean on and somebody that played a similar style to him. I thought that was a really mature approach by him."

It turned out it didn’t take Krug all that long to make an impact in the NHL anyway. After spending the season with Providence, the 22-year-old was called up Tuesday when the Bruins lost three veteran defensemen in four days at the end of their first-round series with the Maple Leafs.

Krug was forced into action in Game 1 of the second round Thursday against the Rangers. He scored the game-tying goal on the power play in the third period of a 3-2 overtime win, his first NHL score.

Suddenly the guy with the face of a high school sophomore was a playoff hero.

"A dream come true," Krug said.

Firing quick

Krug spent the season in Providence and had no problem adapting his skill game to the pros. He had 45 points in 63 games with the Wanna-B’s.

Krug has a low, accurate shot that seemed to surprise Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist on Thursday more than once.

He also likes to skate with the puck along the blue line on the power play, something he saw Providence teammate Chris Bourque do.

Page 2 of 3 - "As far as getting shots through, and for someone his size, he’s got a real hard shot," Matt Bartkowski, a Providence teammate who’s also been an injury call-up, said. "He’s got a really good all-around shot... maybe it does surprise a goalie."

Krug’s best skill is his skating and ability to lug the puck out of the defensive zone and set up a shot quickly.

That translated over easily to the NHL and made a difference in the Bruins’ victory Thursday. Coach Claude Julien used him on the second power-play unit and told him to let it fly.

"With us, he was incredibly confident," Anastos said. "He didn’t hesitate to take some risks. I saw some comments that the coaches told him not to let mistakes get to him (Thursday), and I think that was the difference. As the puck is moving up the ice, he was moving. That’s him."

Roughin’ up

Sweeney spends many weekends around the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, mentoring Providence players with the wisdom he picked up in an unlikely career.

Krug spoke with Sweeney about how to deal with playing against the monsters that populate pro hockey. Defensemen are routinely tasked with engaging, pushing and rumbling with forwards like 6-foot-4, 220-pound Milan Lucic or 6-foot-4, 219-pound Rick Nash. Power forwards grovel at the sight of itsy-bitsy blue liners.

Sweeney learned how to handle that. A video still circulates from Sweeney’s early years of a fight with Mark Recchi, who earned the nickname the ‘Wrecking Ball’ for his truculence in the paint.

"You’d just watch how he would defend, and he played in the hockey days when they didn’t call (a lot), they were clutching and grabbing," the 180-pound Krug said of Sweeney. "To watch a game like that and the way he did in those times, it’s unbelievable."

The now-defunct Central Collegiate Hockey Association only prepares you so much.

"There’s a lot of big guys down in college, but even in college I was able to push guys around and out-battle them," Krug said. "Up here everyone has that compete level, the top-tier guys. I think that’s been the biggest adjustment."

Yet Krug is better equipped to handle it than the casual observer would think. He’s got stronger legs than the twigs they appear to be, and he’s not afraid to get messy with someone, regardless of their size.

In the AHL, he fought Portland’s Brendan Shinnimin in January. On Thursday night, he knocked Rangers center Brian Boyle into the net after a play. That’d be the 6-foot-7, 245-pound Brian Boyle.

"It’s impressive, but he’s a strong, stocky little kid," Bartkowski said. "He’s got a good frame and a good base, so it really doesn’t surprise me that he’s able to stand in there. I saw him toss Boyle in front of the net. I don’t know if it was a little nothing play, but the guy’s 6-7, he’s about 5-8. It’s good to see, it’s good for the team. It just loosens everything up."

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Up again

All signs point to Krug being back in the lineup Sunday for Game 2 against the Rangers. Andrew Ference is out, Wade Redden said Saturday he doesn’t think he’s ready to return, and Dennis Seidenberg didn’t participate in Saturday’s practice.

Assuming they’re all out, Krug will once again be in a Stanley Cup playoff game on national television.

Not only could Krug’s performance have big meaning for the Bruins in this postseason, but also on his future. Ference and Redden are both unrestricted free agents this summer, and with the salary cap lowering and Tuukka Rask still in need of a new contract, the Bruins may be forced to cut ties.

That would open opportunities for Bartkowski and Krug to earn spots on the 2013-14 roster in training camp.

If Game 1 was an early tryout, he made a good first impression.

"With the experience and getting stronger, it’s allowed him to be better in those battles," Julien said. "The experience is also how to handle these battles in the corners and not get burned. Playing a lot has helped him become a better player."

It can be traced back to Krug’s decision to sign here and the help he received from Sweeney.

"When you’re trying to decide which franchise to go to, you like to look at players from the past and obviously see how they played," Krug said. "I saw he was around and was someone I could lean on for some advice every now and then. He gave me a lot of tips about how to adjust to the pro level, so he’s definitely a big reason I came here."

Dan Cagen can be reached at 508-626-3848 or dcagen@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanCagen.